1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to electric power plants, and in particular to such a power plant for propelling vehicles or the like. The electric power plant according to the invention is particularly well adapted for use in a vehicle of the type having electric drive motors built into both front and rear wheels.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A variety of proposals have been made for the electric power plant of motor-driven vehicles, among them being H. Umeda et al. Japanese utility Model Application No. 46-72705 filed on Aug. 16, 1971 by the assignee of the instant application. The power plant according to this Japanese utility model application comprises a pair of electric generators powered by respective internal combustion engines, each for feeding one of two pairs of electric drive motors on the front and rear wheels of a vehicle, in order that in the event of a failure of either engine-generator combination, the vehicle may be propelled by the other engine-generator combination.
One of the objections of this and other electric power plants of prior art design is that the power output of the generators is relatively low because they are each driven by only one engine or other prime mover. As a consequence, an inconveniently large sized generator or generators must be employed in order to obtain desired power output. The power plant proposed by the mentioned Japanese utility model application is also objectionable from the standpoint of installation space. The large space requirement made by this prior art power plant is due in part to the fact that each engine-generator combination extends longitudinally of the vehicle.